Author Spotlight -
Selwyn Berryman-Morgan
Sometimes you have to dig deep into your past to find the story you were meant to write. Selwyn Berryman-Morgan did, and now he has a finished novel to show for it. We’re excited to talk to Selwyn and learn more about him and how he got the idea for his book.
What made you decide to write a novel?
On a trip to Virginia City, Nevada, I saw in the cemetery the graves of Cornish miners, and as my ancestors are from St Just, a tin mining town at the toe-end of Cornwall, I was sure some of those buried there would be long lost relatives. I decided to explore their life and times, and turned their story into a novel… Going Up Camborne Hill.
What is your novel about?
The “Rowe” family are tin miners, from Camborne, Cornwall. It’s Christmas eve 1801 and there’s a fair on the village green. Onto the scene comes Richard Trevithick, a mining engineer who brings with him his road-running steam engine, “The Puffing Devil.” Almond Rowe, my young hero, travels on it to a neighbouring village so that he may meet with his young lover, Maggie.
Almond is forced away from the town, and soon his family, too, leave Cornwall; there being a downturn in the price of metals and work becomes scarce. All the while, technological advances both blight and benefit the lives of their descendants in equal measure as they witness the social upheaval of the Industrial Revolution.
The families diverge, and their members are to be found in the many parts of the world. Places offering a new life and new adventures.
Time passes, and children are born into the family, as others we have come to know pass from us. We find them in the iron foundries and coalfields of South Wales, as others take us to Boston on the eastern seaboard of America, Australia and New Zealand; and, of course, one young man takes us to Virginia City, in search of a fortune. There is love and there is hatred, triumphs and tragedy, but the thread of the family reoccurs through the ages in unexpected ways: on the battlefields of both World Wars and the Irish Civil War. And on the high seas, an American battleship fights against the might of the British navy. Their battles culminate in the skies above war-torn Europe, where British and American bomber forces fight against a determined enemy. All the while, long lost relations meet (often unknowingly) both as friend and as foe.
The thread remains, as life’s stories are replayed in a Serpent Ring, the head devouring the tail, the only link being found in the recurrence of a name.
Tell us about your writing process. How often did you write, and how did you make time for working on your novel?
There were times when I was able to shut myself away with my computer and type directly into Novelize, but that depended on how well I was able to organise my writing around my family life. Some of my story was written on my mobile phone as I took the train journey to London. It passed the time (I transferred what I had written into Novelize). Then, I retired and I was able to find more time for my book.
Do you have plans for other novels?
I will most likely write in the same genre. I love writing about the past. It provides a secure anchor on which to attach my stories, and my life experience provides the narrative and dialogue; I hope it entertains and informs. I write with the voices of those I imagine in my head, and of the characters I have met who would have been at home in any age.
Will there be a sequel to your novel?
Perhaps. There would be plenty of stories in my book that would provide a useful inspiration.
How did you hear about Novelize?
It must have been as an advert as I wrote using the internet
How did Novelize help you write your novel?
It undoubtedly kept me focused, especially in the closing stages. The update of my progress against predefined targets kept me in line.
The software of the program helped me structure the book into coherent chapters and scenes, and allowed me to move them around the novel as I wished, and the ability to export into a word document aided my publication via Amazon.
Do you have any tips for other writers who are just getting started with their first novel?
Find inspiration. I think it must be an idea that you can get lost in for hours, researching, testing out, almost living. For me, the sheer pleasure in writing my thoughts, the tussle with the punctuation, the search for the word of phrase that is just right, kept me going and wanting to write more.
Once you have started on the journey, the discoveries you make about your characters, and yourself, propel you, and you find it is hard to say, ‘enough’.
How can people stay in touch with you?
The novel has a Facebook page “Going Up Camborne Hill”, where you can ‘follow’ and leave your comments or questions. My email is selwyn_morgan@msn.com
Where can people buy your book?
Going Up Camborne Hill is available as an eBook and paperback in Amazon Books.